Minky’s back and he’s mashing
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Aug 23, 2007 
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Just what the Yankees need, another first baseman.
But Doug Mientkiewicz is back and he’s crushing the ball in the Florida State League. Mientkiewicz was 3 for 3 with two doubles, a walk and five RBI for Tampa against Lakeland tonight.
He’s 5 of 7 with seven RBI in two rehab games. As you may recall, Mientkiewicz fractured his wrist in a collision with Mike Lowell back in June.
The Yankees almost certainly will not bring him back before Sept. 1. I would expect Minky to hit Trenton and Scranton on his way to New York.
If nothing else, he’s a heck of a glove and would be helpful protecting leads late in games.
——–
Meanwhile, I just got to my hotel room in Detroit. The plane sat on the runway in Chicago for 3.5 hours while thunderstorms rolled through the area. But I did finish a few stories, played the stupid “music quiz” game on my iPod and slept. So it wasn’t a total loss.
Glad you finally arrived and got there safe. Guy you really needed the sleep and rest. You work 24/7 getting the news and trying to keep us updated. Much appreciated.
ugh I think i’d go nuts if I sat on the runway for 3.5 hours on the runway. Any riots on the plane?
Now get *SOME SLEEP*
Jennifer- Its only 10 pm in Detroit.
Why were you wasting time playing the Ipod quiz game?! You could have been working on additional blogs… Don’t you know that us Yankee fiends check this site like 840 times a day for new information… I think you should throw the ipod out…
Stick with Phillips late he is the one that deserves it. He was the stable guy at first when they needed it and he deserves to be the late inning guy
Dude Detroit is in Eastern Time Zone not Central.
REally?
is there anything more frustrating than sitting in a plane on the ground for that long ? ugh. i’ve never had to do it for 3.5 hours but its been close. I’ve been in traffic for far worse than that, but planes have the ability to fly, and knowing that you should be in the air is the thing that gets ya. when will teleports be invented already.
Oy vey. Please don’t let Mientkiewicz anywhere near the Bronx. He’s the last thing this team needs right now.
Next time catch up on your reading. I just finished a good novel you might like, “The Entitled” by Frank Deford. “A Tale of Modern Baseball.”
I really did not know that.
I love that music quiz game – it always happens to pick the exact point in the song where they are singing the title of the song =)
I agree with Master Shake – the team needs Andy Phillips because he hits lefties and is good for defense. We have a batter that kills righties and his name is Betemit.
It was pouring here in Detroit for a while as well, so your flight might have been delayed because of that as well. We’re supposed to get some more storms tomorrow afternoon and night, so the game might be delayed tomorrow.
I flew from NY to Manchester, England one time, and the in-flight entertainment was broken. I only brought one book. That music quiz game on my iPod was a GOOD time.
Pray tell – what’s the music quiz game on the Ipod?
Please explain
i must say, 7 rbis in 2 rehab games is impressive for mientkiewicz, considering he had 16 rbis in 50 games with the yankees earlier this season.
Minky would be a “heck of a glove” as a late inning replacement. Where do we start with theat.
1. Minky’s glovework is really overrated; you can look it up
2. Glove at 1B is really really overrated as has ben debated here endlessly
3. I thought we were carrying Andy for his glove; btw, his .378 slg would rank 4th from the bootom for qualifying second baseman, in the National League. And his career OPS of .676 is an embarassment- nearl 100 points below league average over the time period. To put that in perspective, the gap is roughly the same between AP and an league-average player as it is between Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon this year.
4. I distinctly recall seeing an above-average hitting Wilson Betemit play a serviceable to good first base.
5. What team has ever carried a guy who’s sole value is First Base defense, let alone two?
If you are advocating cutting Andy P loose I’d be all for it. The guy is the defiiion of Replacement Player. Even worse than Cairo who could at least fill-in at other defensive positions.
Hey Pete
You need to ask LoHud for hazard pay.
Pete-
If I recall correctly Detroit is nicer than Newark but NOT quite as nice as Camden….
You can fast forward 25 years when all of the American automakers are out of business and then they can burn down what is left and just shut it down
Dougie stay down !!!!!!
Hey guys I wonder if you heard, Brian Cashman is about to rock the MLB again
The Yankees are very close to signing the next big Dominican star SS 16 yr. old Edward Salcedo
http://mvn.com/milb-yankees/20.....a-signing/
between him and Angelini we have some decisions to make on the next franchise SS
September call-ups will be interesting. I’m an Andy Phillips fan, but if Doug can even mildly produce with the bat, you have to think he kind of negates the need for Phillips on the roster if we make the playoffs(since Betemit’s already a utility guy).
Have you downloaded the new Music Quiz game from Itunes? Its actually really fun.
Master Shake’s post rules cause I read it in my head in the voice of Master Shake. post more!
music quiz game? i really need an upgrade to the 20 year old ipod i got 2nd hand.
Eye Chart is a minor league caliber hitter.
The Yankees don’t need his awfulness clogging their roster.
Phillips is better defensively than Stinky Minky.
I think Doug M is the better overall first baseman than Andy Phillips… I think Doug M can hit a little more. Phillips does provide the ability to play a few more positions though.
Peter,
You were better off on the runway than in Detroit.
Actually, Betemit should be the 1Bman against RHers and Duncan should be the 1B against LHers.
hey Pete,
you should totally get a nintendo DS for when you travel.
they’re relatively cheap and the library is really dynamic.
if you’re looking for something more serious than mario, check out “hotel dusk”. it’s like playing through a stephen king novel. i was addicted to it!
Ugh. ManCaveItch. He’s tearing up the FL state league… which is about the only league he can tear up.
Another good bench player cannot hurt in September.
5 of 7 in the Florida State League? Wow, that’s almost as good as Josh Phelps in Major League Baseball.
This Dougie Mientkiewicz hate is the most hilariously representative example of armchair-managing around here, which is saying A LOT.
Mientkiewicz is not just “above average” at 1B. Defensively he is PLUS-PLUS, whose AL peers are maybe Overbay & Kotchman. (A good article (2005) on his value here: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=1991175)
Also — after a terrible start, and before he got hurt, he was raking at the plate. Check it. But why cut him any more slack than you did the rest of the struggling lefties in April and May — Abreu, Robbie, Zilla, etc. Right? Because you like to make fun of his last name?
Some of you cats need to take some deep breaths and understand that the Yankee front office is working harder, with more knowledge to draw on, than you are; that they are actually getting PAID to ruminate on baseball matters because they KNOW MORE.
“I agree with Master Shake – the team needs Andy Phillips because he hits lefties and is good for defense. ”
unfortunately, Andy Phillips can’t hit lefties at all.
his career line is .209/.248/.284 which means lefties reduce him to one of the worst hitters in the history of baseball.
Anyone see Josh Phelps’ numbers for Pittsburgh haha?
He’s absolutely raking. .450 avg 1.333 OPS
“But why cut him any more slack than you did the rest of the struggling lefties in April and May — Abreu, Robbie, Zilla, etc. Right? Because you like to make fun of his last name?”
is this a trick question? mientkiewicz has consistently been terrible at the plate throughout his entire career. abreu, cano, and matsui can be written off to a slump–they have shown what they’re capable of offensively at consistent rates. mientkiewicz, on the other hand, was just producing at his usual rate.
I hate stat geeks. Especially defensive stat geeks.
The Count of Montefusco,
“This Dougie Mientkiewicz love is the most hilariously representative example of armchair-managing around here, which is saying A LOT.”
I fixed your message for you. And a generic, stat-free “Mientkiewicz is a great fielder” article from 2005 doesn’t do much for me.
“Also — after a terrible start, and before he got hurt, he was raking at the plate. Check it.”
Don’t mind if I do. Between May 16 and June 2, Mientkiewicz hit .211/.286/.342.
In the week before he got injured, he hit .188/.235/.188.
You can look at any broader or narrower portion of his stats, but you will always come up with simply execrable numbers. He was an automatic out before he got injured and there’s no reason to think he’d be any better now.
Phillips is terrible, but he is better than Mientkiewicz. And I don’t see any reason to put two no-hit first basemen with roughly similar fielding skills on the team.
“I hate stat geeks. Especially defensive stat geeks.”
Readers, if you must be a stat geek, for Tigger’s sake, please try to be an offensive stat geek.
“I hate stat geeks. Especially defensive stat geeks.”
yes, we should just ignore valuable information.
the problem with “stat geeks” is when they assume the numbers tell 100% of the story. which they don’t.
the same applies to the “anti-stat” crowd, who assume their eyes tell them 100% of the story. which they don’t.
i don’t understand the willful arrogance on one side of the debate, and the willful ignorance on the other side.
sometimes numbers illuminate things we would overlook. since Andy Phillips had a few hits against Robertson the other day, we might think he hits lefties pretty well b/c that is fresh in our memory, but looking at the numbers, it’s obvious he doesn’t. of course, those numbers might obscure 20 scorching line drives he hit that were caught. though i guess we could look that up as well if we had the time or inclination.
the point is, it’s silly to dismiss one side or the other.
“I hate stat geeks. Especially defensive stat geeks.”
I hate idiotic nerds like you.
Hey Count,
Eye Chart is no longer at that defensive level.
Minky,was signed to only a one yr deal, it was a Cashman mistake4.He could make the little league team representing the US,or for that matter the METS
Mea culpa on the pre-injury numbers. Am I having false memories? I distinctly recall him tearing it up for a couple weeks not long before the injury but I have neither the time nor the energy to dig around for the period…so I will have to stand corrected.
Still and all I prefer him to Phillips, and if the powers-that-be see his rehab numbers as trending I would throw him directly into the mix given his playoff experience and stellar D.
Rosters expand September 1. Why the heck wouldn’t you call up Eye Chart? We’re paying him anyway. Frees Phillips up to sub at 2b/3b when we are blowing out the dregs of the AL East in September. Rest the big guns after they’ve knocked in 10. You think Torre will suddenly start playing Minky when Giambi can’t even crack the everyday lineup because he likes the way the team is playing. Please be serious.
The Count of Montefusco,
“Mea culpa on the pre-injury numbers. Am I having false memories?”
I don’t blame you, considering all the praise for Minky thrown around on this site in the weeks before his injury.
BTW, it’s easy to get hitting stats for a particular span on baseballreference.com. If you go to gamelogs you can simply click on the first and last dates of a timespan in a season and you will get stats for that time.